Iowa Caucuses process needs a cleanup

Republicans looked to Iowa on Thursday morning, waiting to hear the certified vote counts from the Iowa Republican Caucuses held on January 3. Iowa holds the distinction of being “First in the Nation,” a slogan applied to websites and messaging from both political parties.

On the East coast, it will be after lunch on Thursday, January 19, before media get results:

The Iowa GOP will publicly release the certified vote totals of the 2012 Republican Caucuses at 8:15 a.m. (CST) on Thursday, January 19. The certified “Form E” precinct documents will then be made available for inspection by presidential campaign representatives at 9:00 a.m. (CST) at the Republican Party of Iowa Headquarters in Des Moines. The certified “Form E” precinct documents will then be made available for inspection by members of the news media starting at 11:00 a.m. (CST).

The Des Moines Register did a lengthy analysis and noted that 8 precincts “will never be certified.”

The newspaper also backtracked, looking at historical snafus for both Republicans and Democrats in the Hawkeye State.

This latest muddle will provide states dissatisfied with the primary schedules some substantial talking points in the argument for a schedule shuffle come 2016.

Across the nation, state political parties have argued about the process and justification for permanent designation of states like Iowa and New Hampshire as the earliest in the primary process.

How might this have affected the national and state polls? No one really knows.

However, if I was on former senator Rick Santorum’s campaign team, I’d be hot under the collar right now. As a matter of fact, if I was on any candidate's team, I'd be pretty unhappy.

The Associated Press said according to GOP officials, Santorum was up on Romney by 34 votes. Officials are reportedly not declaring a winner.

That’s odd. Media declared one before the votes were certified. It seems only fair officials should declare the winner as Santorum if he won the largest number of certified votes.

Obviously, Iowa’s process needs a bit of a cleanup. It’s customary to take time to certify votes. But when you can’t find votes for 8 precincts and despite certifying results that show a candidate ahead you won’t declare a winner—that alone points to the need for refining your process. Especially when you have permanent status as “First in the Nation.”

Iowa’s not the only state that’s had problems and the GOP isn’t alone in this dilemma either. Indiana comes to mind, as Fox News reported in December:

The Democratic presidential primary petitions that put then-candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on the 2008 primary ballot in Indiana are the focus of a criminal investigation. There are allegations that numerous signatures and names on the petitions were forged, so many in fact, that questions have been raised as to whether now-President Obama even qualified with enough legal signatures to get on the primary ballot in the first place.

(Commentary by Kay B. Day/Jan. 19, 2012)